English Book Collectors

Beckford's library was rich in fine early printed books, rare voyages and travels, and choice French, Spanish and Italian works, but it was chiefly remarkable for its superb collection of beautiful and historical bindings. It contained a large number of volumes from the libraries of Grolier, Maioli, Lauwrin, Canevari, De Thou, Peiresc, and other distinguished collectors, and also examples of bindings bearing the arms and devices of Francis I. of France, Henry II. and Diana of Poitiers, Charles IX., Henry III., Henry IV., Louis XIII., Anne of Austria, etc.; many of the volumes being bound by Nicolas and Clovis Eve, Le Gascon, Padeloup, Derome, Monnier and other famous French binders. Very high prices were obtained for many of these splendid books—Lactantii Opera, printed in the Monastery of Subiaco by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1465, sold for two hundred and eighty-five pounds; Biblia Latina, printed on vellum by N. Jenson at Venice in 1476, three hundred and thirty pounds; Livre de Bien Vivre, on vellum, finely illuminated, Paris, A. Verard, 1492, three hundred and thirty pounds; Philostrati Vita Apollonii Tyanei, printed by Aldus at Venice in 1502, Grolier's copy, bound in red morocco, three hundred pounds; Lucanus, printed by Aldus in 1515, Grolier's copy, bound in marbled calf, two hundred and ninety pounds; Tirante il Bianco, Vinegia, 1538, red morocco, from the library of Demetrio Canevari, one hundred and eleven pounds; Entree de Henry II. en Paris 6 Juing 1549, etc., with the arms and cypher of de Thou on the binding, four hundred and seventy pounds; Psalmorum Paraphrasis Poetica, by G. Buchanan, beautifully bound in olive morocco, with the arms and cypher of De Thou, three hundred and ten pounds; Livre de la Conqueste de la Toison d'Or par le Prince Jason, par J. Gohory, Paris, 1563, in a beautiful binding by Nicolas Eve, with the arms of the Duke of Guise painted on the covers, four hundred and five pounds; Poliphile Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1561, bound in blue morocco by Nicolas Eve for Louise de Lorraine, two hundred and twenty pounds; Portraits des Rois, Hommes et Dames Illustres, etc., a series of the engraved works of Sir Anthony Vandyck, including his own etchings, in three large folio volumes, two thousand eight hundred and fifty pounds; Decor Puellarum, printed by N. Jenson at Venice in 1471, in a splendid binding by Monnier—blue morocco, with flowers in various leathers, and with silk linings, five hundred and thirty pounds; and Longi Pastoralia, printed on vellum by P. Didot at Paris for Junot, Duke of Abrantes, with drawings by Prud'hon and F. Gérard, nine hundred pounds.

Beckford wrote other works besides Vathek, several of which he left in manuscript, and a large number of his books contained notes in his handwriting.

FREDERICK NORTH, FIFTH EARL OF GUILFORD, 1766-1827

Frederick North, fifth Earl of Guilford, was born on the 7th of February 1766. He was the third and youngest son of Frederick, second Earl, Prime Minister from January 1770 to March 1782. When his health, which was very delicate, permitted, he went to Eton, and afterwards became a student of Christ Church, Oxford. He was created D.C.L. in 1793, and received the same degree by diploma in 1819. In 1779, through his father's interest, he obtained the sinecure of one of the Chamberlains of the Tally Court of the Exchequer, and in 1794 he was appointed to the Comptrollership of the Customs of the Port of London, when he resigned the representation of the family borough of Banbury, to which he had succeeded when his eldest brother, George Augustus, came to the Earldom in 1792. North was Secretary of State to the Viceroy of the Ionian Islands during 1795 and 1796, and in 1798 he was made Governor of Ceylon, a post he held until July 1805. On the death of his brother Francis, the fourth Earl, in 1817, he succeeded to the Earldom of Guilford, and in 1819 he was created a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Member of the Eumelean Club. Lord Guilford, who had been received into the Eastern Church at Corfu in 1791, died unmarried in London on the 14th of October 1827, and was succeeded by his cousin, the Rev. Francis North, Prebendary of Winchester and Master of the Hospital of St. Cross. Lord Guilford was a distinguished scholar, and a most accomplished linguist. He took the greatest interest in everything relating to Greek literature and art, and it was principally through his exertions, and with his money, that a University was founded in 1824 at Corfu, of which he was the first chancellor, and in which he resided until 1827, when he was obliged to return to England on account of his health. He left his collections of printed books, manuscripts, etc., at Corfu to the University, but in consequence of its failure to comply with certain conditions which accompanied the bequest, it was not carried out. Lord Guilford's fine library was sold by Evans, in seven parts, in the years 1828, 1829, 1830, and 1835. The first sale took place on December 15th, 1828, and eight following days; and the others on January 12th, 1829, and five following days; February 28th, 1829, and two following days; December 8th, 1830, and four following days; December 20th, 1830, and four following days; January 5th, 1831, and three following days; and November 9th, 1835, and seven following days. The last three sales were of the manuscripts and books removed from Corfu. There were eight thousand five hundred and eleven lots in the seven sales, which realised twelve thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds, ten shillings and sixpence.

Lord Guilford's collection was an excellent one, and, as might be expected, the Greek manuscripts in it were particularly numerous and choice. The printed books were good, but they were not equal to the manuscripts either in interest or value. Among the latter was the original manuscript of Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata, with some alterations of verses in the margin, likewise in the handwriting of Tasso. This sold for two hundred and four pounds, fifteen shillings. Four Greek manuscripts of the eleventh century: a copy of the Four Gospels; the Greek Offices, with Intonations or Musical Directions for Chanting; an Evangelistarium and Menologium of the Greek Church; and Josephus's Historia de Bello Judaico, deserve special notice on account of their beauty and rarity. These fetched at the sale respectively one hundred and two pounds, eighteen shillings; one hundred and seventy-three pounds, five shillings; seventy-three pounds, ten shillings; and two hundred and seventy-three pounds. Another interesting manuscript was a copy of the New Testament in Glagolitic characters, which realised one hundred and sixty-eight pounds. Among the printed books may be mentioned a large paper copy of the first edition of the Sixtine Bible, printed at Rome in 1590, and suppressed by order of Gregory XIV., on account of the numerous inaccuracies in it, which realised sixty-three pounds; and the Duke of Northumberland's Concio ad Populum Londinensem, printed at Rome in 1570, of which the only other known copy is in the library of the Vatican, for which forty-two pounds was obtained.

GEORGE SPENCER CHURCHILL, FIFTH DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, 1766-1840

George Spencer Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, the collector of the famous library at White Knights, near Reading, Berkshire, was the elder son of George, fourth Duke of Marlborough, by Caroline, only daughter of John, fourth Duke of Bedford. He was born on the 6th of March 1766, and was educated at Eton, and subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating M.A. in 1786 and D.C.L. in 1792. At the general election in 1790 he was returned to Parliament as one of the members for Oxfordshire, and in August 1804 he was appointed a Lord of the Treasury, which office he held until February 1806. On the 12th of March in the same year he was called to the House of Lords as Baron Spencer of Wormleighton, and on the death of his father on the 29th of January 1817 he succeeded to the dukedom. In the May following he was authorised to take and use the name of Churchill after that of Spencer, and to bear the arms of Churchill quarterly with those of Spencer, in order to perpetuate in his family the surname of his celebrated ancestor, John, first Duke of Marlborough. He married, on the 15th of September 1791, Susan, second daughter of John, seventh Earl of Galloway, by whom he had issue four sons and two daughters. He died on the 5th of March 1840, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George.

The splendid library which the Duke of Marlborough, while Marquis of Blandford, collected at White Knights was one of the finest in the kingdom. Its two great treasures were the Bedford Book of Hours, now in the British Museum, purchased by the Duke in 1815 at the sale of the library of James Edwards, for the sum of six hundred and ninety-eight pounds, five shillings; and the edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, printed by Valdarfer at Venice in 1471, which he acquired at the Duke of Roxburghe's sale in 1812, after a spirited contest with his relative, Earl Spencer, at the enormous price of two thousand two hundred and sixty pounds. This copy, Edward Edwards tells us (Libraries and Founders of Libraries), had been offered to Lord Sunderland for a hundred guineas just a century before one of his great-grandsons offered more than two thousand guineas for it, and was outbidden by another. Among many other choice manuscripts and rare books the library contained a beautiful Missal, said to have been executed for Diana of Poitiers; no fewer than eighteen Caxtons; the Bokys of Hawkyng and Huntyng, printed at St. Albans in 1486; a large number of very rare books from the presses of Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, and other early English printers; a copy on vellum of the first edition of Luther's translation of the Bible after his final revision; a collection of Churchyard's Works in two volumes; many of the early editions of Shakespeare's plays, together with the first edition of his Sonnets; and Ireland's account of the Shakesperian Forgery, in his own handwriting. The collection was especially rich in missals, books of emblems, and Italian, Spanish, and French romances of chivalry, poetry, and facetiæ.

The extravagance of the Duke compelled him to dispose of his magnificent collection during his lifetime, and it was sold in two parts by Mr. Evans at 26 Pall Mall. The sale, which consisted of four thousand seven hundred and one lots, commenced on the 7th of June 1819 and lasted till the 3rd of July following. It realised but fourteen thousand four hundred and eighty-two pounds, ten shillings and sixpence, a much less sum than that paid for the books by the Duke. The Valdarfer Boccaccio sold for nine hundred and eighteen pounds, fifteen shillings, and the Caxtons fetched one thousand three hundred and sixteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence; the highest prices being obtained for Gower's Confessio Amantis, and Chaucer's Troylus and Creside, which realised two hundred and five pounds, sixteen shillings, and one hundred and sixty-two pounds, fifteen shillings. The Book of St. Albans, which was imperfect, fetched eighty-four pounds; Luther's translation of the Bible, two hundred and twenty pounds, ten shillings; Churchyard's Works, eighty-five pounds, one shilling; and Shakespeare's Sonnets, thirty-seven pounds. The Missal said to have been written for Diana of Poitiers sold for one hundred and ten pounds, five shillings.

ALEXANDER, TENTH DUKE OF HAMILTON, 1767-1852

In addition to his own books, the Duke acquired the whole of William Beckford's splendid collection by his marriage with Beckford's daughter Susan Euphemia. William, the eleventh Duke, who was born on February the 19th, 1811, and died on July the 15th, 1863, added considerably to the library, but his successor was reluctantly obliged to part with it, and it was advertised to be sold by auction on June 30th, 1882. Before, however, the time appointed for the sale, the Royal Museum at Berlin, by a private arrangement, acquired the whole of the manuscripts for a sum which is believed to have amounted to about seventy-five thousand pounds, and they were divided between that Institution and the Royal Library at Berlin. A portion of them, which related to Scottish history, was purchased of the Prussian authorities by the British Museum; and ninety-one other manuscripts which were not required by the Berlin Museum, including the 'Golden Gospels,' were sent to Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, by whom they were sold on the 23rd of May 1889 for fifteen thousand one hundred and eighty-nine pounds, ten shillings and sixpence. The 'Golden Gospels' was bought by Mr. Quaritch for one thousand five hundred pounds. The printed books were sold by the same auctioneers on May 1st, 1884, and seven following days. The sale consisted of two thousand one hundred and thirty-six lots, and realised twelve thousand eight hundred and ninety-two pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. The following are a few of the rarest and most interesting books, and the prices they fetched—Boecius de Consolatione Philosophie, printed by Caxton in 1477-78, one hundred and sixty pounds; Dante's Commedia, printed at Florence in 1481, with twenty engravings by Baccio Baldini, three hundred and eighty pounds; the Poems of Pindar in Greek, printed by Aldus in 1513, with the arms of France and the monogram and devices of Henry II. and Diana of Poitiers on the binding, one hundred and forty-one pounds; the Prince of Condé's copy of L'Hystoire du Roy Perceforest, Paris, 1528, with his arms on the covers, one hundred and eighteen pounds; a dedication copy, printed upon vellum, and bound for James V., King of Scotland, of Hector Boece's History and Croniklis, translated by Bellenden, and printed at Edinburgh in 1536, the binding having on the upper cover IACOBVS QVINTVS, and on the lower REX SCOTORVM, eight hundred pounds; a Collection of Architectural Designs, executed with pen and ink by J. Androuet du Cerceau, in a beautiful binding attributed to Clovis Eve, two hundred and forty pounds; De Bry's Collectiones Peregrinationum, in eleven volumes, bound in blue morocco by Derome, five hundred and sixty pounds; Book of Common Prayer, 1637, folio—King Charles I.'s copy, with numerous alterations in his own handwriting which were used in printing the Scottish Prayer-book of the same year, usually termed Laud's Book. Prefixed to the Order for Morning Prayer the King has written: 'Charles R.—I gave the Archb^p. of Canterbury comand to make the alteracons expressed in this Book and to fit a Liturgy for the Church of Scotland, and wheresoever they shall differ from another Booke signed by us at Hamp^t. Court Septemb^r. 28, 1634, our pleasure is to have these followed rather than the former; unless the Archb^p. of St. Andrews and his Brethren who are upon the place shall see apparent reason to the contrary. At Whitehall, April 19, 1636'—one hundred and thirty-seven pounds.

The paintings and objects of art belonging to the Duke of Hamilton were sold in July 1882, and realised three hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds.

SIR MARK MASTERMAN SYKES, Bart., 1771-1823

Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, Bart., was the eldest son of Sir Christopher Sykes, second baronet, of Sledmere, Yorkshire. He was born on the 20th of August 1771, and in his seventeenth year was sent to Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1795 he served the office of High Sheriff of Yorkshire, and on the death of his father in 1801 he succeeded to the title and estates. He was elected Member of Parliament for the city of York in 1807; was again returned in 1812 and 1813, and retired on account of ill health in 1820. Sir M. Masterman Sykes was twice married. His first wife was Henrietta, daughter and heiress of Henry Masterman of Settrington, Yorkshire, and on his union with her in 1795 he assumed the additional name of Masterman. She died in 1813, and in the following year he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Tatton Egerton, and sister of Wilbraham Tatton Egerton, of Tatton Park, who survived him. Sir Mark died at Weymouth, on his way to London, on the 16th of February 1823. He had no children, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir Tatton Sykes.

Sir M. Masterman Sykes early developed a love for books, and the magnificent library which he formed, one of the finest private collections in England, was the result of upwards of thirty years' unremitting and careful work. Some of the rare volumes it contained, we are informed in the preface to the sale catalogue of his library written by the Rev. H.J. Todd, 'were procured during the collector's travels abroad, but many of them were acquired at the dispersion of the libraries of Major Pearson, Dr. Farmer, Steevens, Reed, the Rev. Mr. Brand, the Duke of Roxburghe and others, but especially of that of the late Mr. Edwards, from whom the celebrated Livy of 1469 was obtained—the only known copy of the first edition of Livy on vellum.'

Among the principal treasures of the collection were the Gutenberg Bible; the Psalter of 1459, on vellum; the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum of Durandus, on vellum, 1459; the Catholicon of Joannes Balbus de Janua, 1460; the Latin Bible of 1462, on vellum; and the Epistles of St. Jerome, on vellum, 1470: all printed at Mentz.

The library was especially rich in early editions of the Greek and Latin Classics, and on its shelves were to be found the only copy known to exist on vellum of the first edition of Livy, printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz about 1469, to which we have already referred; the first edition of Pliny, printed by Joannes de Spira at Venice in 1469; that printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1470; a copy on vellum of the beautiful 1472 edition from the press of Nicolas Jenson of Venice; and the earliest editions of Homer, Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Tacitus, Terence, and Valerius Maximus.

The library also contained the Dante printed at Foligno in 1472, and that printed at Florence in 1481; the first issue of the Latin translation of the Letter of Columbus, printed at Rome in 1493; a fine copy of the Poliphili Hypnerotomachia, printed by Aldus at Venice in 1499; the Aldine Petrarch of 1501; several rare Missals and Books of Hours, the most notable of them being a vellum copy of the Vallombrosa Missal, printed at Florence in 1503; and a copy of the Tewrdannck, also on vellum, printed at Nuremberg in 1517.

There were several Caxtons, among them being The Myrrour of the World and Higden's Polychronicon.

The literature of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. was well represented, and the library contained a copy of that rare work, Archbishop Parker's De Antiquitate Ecclesiæ Britannicæ.

The collection also comprised several fine and interesting manuscripts. Deserving especial notice were a beautiful illuminated Office, on vellum, of the Virgin Mary, executed for Francis I., King of France; the original Report of Convocation to Henry VIII. on the Legality of his proposed Divorce from Anne of Cleves, subscribed with the autograph signatures of the Archbishop and all the Bishops and Clergy assembled in Convocation, dated July 9th, 1540; and an autograph manuscript of Dugdale's Visitation of the County of York in 1665-66.

Sir M. Masterman Sykes possessed an immense collection of prints. It included a complete set of Bartolozzi's engravings which is said to have cost Sir Mark nearly five thousand pounds; his collection of portraits was considered to be one of the best in the kingdom; and Dibdin declared that his 'Faithornes and Hollars almost defied competition.' He also accumulated a considerable number of pictures, bronzes, coins and medals.

All the collections were dispersed by sale in 1824. The books were sold by Mr. Evans of Pall Mall in three parts, commencing on the 11th of May and continuing until the 28th of June. The total amount realised was eighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds, sixteen shillings. The prices obtained were by no means high. The Gutenberg Bible, which was a very fine one, fetched less than two hundred pounds, and the copy of the Mentz Psalter, for which Mr. Quaritch subsequently gave four thousand nine hundred and fifty pounds at Sir J. H. Thorold's sale in 1884, sold for one hundred and thirty-six pounds, ten shillings. The Latin Bible of 1462 was disposed of for the same sum; and the unique vellum Livy, which cost Sir Mark nine hundred and three pounds at the sale of Mr. Edwards's books in 1815, realised but four hundred and seventy-two pounds, ten shillings. This volume was bought by Messrs. Payne and Foss, who sold it to Mr. John Dent, and at the sale of his collection in 1827 it was acquired for two hundred and sixty-two pounds, ten shillings by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, who bequeathed it to the British Museum in 1846. The three manuscripts mentioned—The Office of the Virgin Mary, the Report of Convocation on Henry VIII.'s divorce from Anne of Cleves, and Dugdale's Visitation of the County of York—fetched respectively one hundred and sixty-three pounds, sixteen shillings; two hundred and fifteen pounds, five shillings; and one hundred and fifty-seven pounds, ten shillings.

Sir M. Masterman Sykes was one of the original members of the Roxburghe Club, and in 1818 printed for presentation to the members a portion of Lydgate's Poems. He was the 'Lorenzo' of Dibdin, who describes him as 'not less known than respected for the suavity of his manners, the kindness of his disposition, and the liberality of his conduct in all matters connected with books and prints.'

RICHARD HEBER, 1773-1833

Richard Heber, styled by Sir Walter Scott 'Heber the Magnificent, whose library and cellar are so superior to all others in the world,' was the eldest son of Reginald Heber, lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire, and Hodnet in Shropshire, and was half-brother to Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta. He was born in Westminster on the 5th of January 1773, and was first educated under the private tuition of the Rev. George Henry Glasse; afterwards proceeding to Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1796, and M.A. in the following year. In 1822 the University conferred on him the degree of D.C.L. On the death of his father in 1804, Heber succeeded to the estates in Yorkshire and Shropshire, which he considerably augmented and improved. He was one of the founders of the Athenæum Club, and in 1821 he was elected a representative in Parliament for the University of Oxford, but resigned his seat in 1826. From his earliest years he was an ardent collector, and Dibdin says that he had seen a catalogue of Heber's books, compiled by him at the age of eight; and when ten years old he requested his father to buy some volumes at a certain sale, where 'there would be the best editions of the classics.' Of many of his books he possessed several copies, and on being asked by a friend why he purchased them, he seriously replied: 'Why, you see, Sir, no man can comfortably do without three copies of a book. One he must have for his show copy, and he will probably keep it at his country house. Another he will require for his own use and reference; and unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must needs have a third at the service of his friends.' Soon after the peace of 1815 Heber paid a visit to the Continent to collect books for his library, and in 1825 he again left England for a considerable period for the purpose of still further adding to his literary stores. On his return in 1831 he spent his time in seclusion between his country residence at Hodnet, near Shrewsbury, and his house at Pimlico, devoting himself to the last days of his life to the increase of his immense collection. He died at Pimlico of an attack on the lungs, accompanied with jaundice, on the 4th of October 1833, and was buried at Hodnet on the 16th of the following month. The Rev. Mr. Dyce in a letter to Sir Egerton Brydges, gives a melancholy account of his end. 'Poor man,' he writes, 'he expired at Pimlico, in the midst of his rare property, without a friend to close his eyes, and from all I have heard I am led to believe he died broken-hearted: he had been ailing for some time, but took no care of himself, and seemed indeed to court death. Yet his ruling passion was strong to the last. The morning he died he wrote out some memoranda for Thorpe about books which he wished to be purchased for him. He was the most liberal of book-collectors: I never asked him for the loan of a volume, which he could lay his hand on, he did not immediately send me.[91] Heber, who was a man of deep learning, numbered among his friends Porson, Cracherode, Canning, Southey, Dr. Burney, Sir Walter Scott, and many other distinguished persons. Sir Walter dedicated the sixth canto of Marmion to him, and alludes to his library in the following lines:—

'Thy volumes, open as thy heart,
Delight, amusement, science, art,
To every ear and eye impart;
Yet who, of all who thus employ them,
Can like the owner's self enjoy them?—
But, hark! I hear the distant drum!
The day of Flodden Field is come.—
Adieu, dear Heber! Life and health,
And store of literary wealth.'

The number of volumes accumulated by Heber was enormous. He collected manuscripts as well as printed books. At the time of his death he possessed eight houses overflowing with books. At Hodnet he had built a new library which he is said to have filled with volumes selected on account of their fine condition; and so careful was he of these, that occasionally he used to engage the whole of the inside places of the coach for their conveyance from London. The walls of all the rooms and passages of his house at Pimlico were lined with books; and another house in York Street, Westminster, which he used as a depository for newly purchased books, was literally crammed with them from the floors to the ceilings. He had a library in the High Street, Oxford; an immense collection at Paris, which was sold in the years 1834 to 1836; another at Ghent, sold in 1835; and others at Brussels and Antwerp, together with smaller gatherings in several places on the Continent. Dibdin estimated the total number of volumes in Heber's collections in England at one hundred and twenty-seven thousand five hundred, but other calculations have placed it at a somewhat lower figure. The whole of the libraries which he possessed in England and on the Continent probably contained from one hundred and forty-five thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand volumes, as well as a very large number of pamphlets; and they are believed to have cost him about a hundred thousand pounds. As Heber was an accomplished scholar as well as a collector, his books were chosen with ability and judgment. He was a purchaser at every great sale, and so keen was he in the prosecution of his favourite pursuit, that on hearing of a rare book he has been known to undertake a coach journey of several hundred miles to obtain it. His library was particularly rich in the works of the early English poets, and his collection of Greek and Latin Classics, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French books was very extensive and choice, but he had a great objection to large paper copies, because they occupied so much room on his shelves. He possessed also a number of books printed in Mexico; and among his manuscripts were to be found the letters and papers of Sir Julius Cæsar, the autograph manuscript of The Monastery, by Sir Walter Scott, and a large collection of the letters of distinguished men. For a considerable period his will could not be found, although diligent search was made for it, both at home and abroad, and his sister, Mrs. Cholmondeley, was on the point of taking out letters of administration, when it was accidentally discovered by Dr. Dibdin among some books on an upper shelf at Pimlico. As it did not contain any directions as to the disposal of his books, those in England, together with some brought from Holland, were sold by Sotheby and Son, Evans, and Wheatley at a series of sales extending over four years, and realised fifty-seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four pounds, twelve shillings. The catalogue is in thirteen parts, bearing the dates 1834-37. His books on the Continent, with the drawings and coins, fetched about ten thousand pounds more.

Heber edited the works of Persius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, and Claudianus. He also reprinted the Caltha Poetarum, or the Bumble Bee, of T. Cutwode, from the edition of 1599, for the Roxburghe Club, and assisted in the preparation of the third edition of Ellis's Specimens of the Early English Poets.

RICHARD GRENVILLE, FIRST DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, 1776-1839

Richard Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, first Duke of Buckingham, was born in London on the 20th of March 1776. He was the eldest son of George Grenville, Earl Temple, who was made Marquis of Buckingham in 1784. He began collecting books at a very early age, and in 1798 had already commenced the formation of a library at Stowe; and the acquisition of the manuscripts and papers of Thomas Astle, Keeper of the Records in the Tower; the Irish manuscripts from Belanagare, the seat of The O'Conor Don; the State Papers of Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in the reign of Charles II., together with some other purchases, placed his library among the finest private collections in the kingdom.[92] On the death of his father in 1813 he succeeded to the title, and nine years later he was created Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. In 1827, in consequence of his great expenditure on his various collections, and the munificence with which he had entertained the royal family of France, he found himself in embarrassed circumstances, and left England, remaining abroad about two years. In 1834 he was compelled to sell his furniture, pictures, and articles of virtù, but did not part with his books, which, on his death on the 17th of January 1839, passed into the possession of his only son, Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, who was born on February the 11th, 1797. The habits of the son were not less extravagant than those of his father, and in 1847 the effects at Stowe and his other residences were seized by bailiffs, and in August and September 1848 the pictures, furniture, china, plate, etc., were sold by auction, realising over seventy-five thousand five hundred pounds. The printed books in the library were sold by Sotheby and Wilkinson, on January 8th, 1849, and eleven following days, and January 29, and eleven following days. There were six thousand two hundred and twelve lots in the two sales, which brought ten thousand three hundred and fifty-five pounds, seven shillings and sixpence. The extensive and valuable series of engraved portraits contained in the Duke's illustrated copy of the Biographical History of England, by the Rev. James Granger, was sold by the same auctioneers on March 5th and eight following days, and a continuation of it by the Rev. Mark Noble, together with some other engravings, on the 21st of March and five following days. There were two thousand two hundred and one lots in these two sales, for which the sum of three thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine pounds, eighteen shillings and sixpence was obtained. The manuscripts were bought by the Earl of Ashburnham for eight thousand pounds. The collection of printed books in the Stowe library was inferior in interest to that of the manuscripts, but it contained some rare and choice volumes. Amongst them was a block-book, The Apocalypse, which sold for ninety-four pounds; Missale ad usum Ecclesiæ Andegavensis, on vellum, printed in 1489, sixty-three pounds; Le Fevre's Recuyles of the Hystoryes of Troye, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1503, fifty-five pounds; a complete set of the twenty-five parts in eight volumes of De Bry's Collectiones Peregrinationum, printed at Frankfurt in 1590-1634, eighty-one pounds; De Bry's Relation of Virginia, translated by Hariot, printed at Frankfurt in 1590, sixty-three pounds; the first Shakespeare folio (mended, and the title-page slightly imperfect), seventy-six pounds; fine, large, and perfect copies of the second and third folios, eleven pounds, five shillings and thirty-five pounds; Shakespeare's Poems, 1640, seven pounds, ten shillings; Prynne's Records, three volumes, 1665-70, one hundred and forty pounds; the fourth volume, printed in 1665 or 1666, believed to be unique, three hundred and thirty-five pounds; Houbraken's Heads of Illustrious Persons, two volumes, 1756, folio, large paper, with first states and duplicate proofs of the plates, etc., ninety-one pounds; Bartolozzi's Engravings, a collection of six hundred and sixty plates in various proof states, bound in eight folio volumes, sixty-two pounds; Boydell's Prints, five hundred and forty fine impressions, bound in nine folio volumes, seventy-eight pounds, fifteen shillings; Lysons's Topographical Account of Buckinghamshire, inlaid in eight volumes, atlas folio, and super-illustrated with four hundred and eighty drawings, etc., five hundred and forty pounds; and Lysons's Environs of London, large paper, eighteen volumes quarto, super-illustrated with eight hundred drawings and a large number of plates, one hundred and thirty-three pounds. The Duke, who died at the Great Western Hotel, London, on July the 29th, 1861, was the author of Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George III., 1853-55, two volumes; Memoirs of the Court of England during the Regency, 1856, two volumes; Memoirs of the Court of George IV., 1859, two volumes; Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria, 1861, two volumes; and Private Diary of Richard, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, 1862, four volumes; together with a few political works.

HENRY PERKINS, 1778-1855

Mr. Perkins, who was a Fellow of the Linnean, Geological and Horticultural Societies, possessed a small but exceedingly valuable library, which, among many other extremely rare books, contained two copies of the Gutenberg Bible, one on vellum and the other on paper; a copy on vellum of Fust and Schoeffer's Latin Bible of 1462; a copy of the Coverdale Bible; several works from the press of Caxton, and the first four editions of Shakespeare's Plays. It also comprised many fine manuscripts, some of them superbly illuminated. Mr. Henry Perkins bequeathed his books to his son, Mr. Algernon Perkins, and after his death in 1870 they were sold by auction at Hanworth by Gadsden, Ellis and Co. on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of June 1873. There were but eight hundred and sixty-five lots in the sale, but they realised an average of thirty pounds, or a total of twenty-five thousand nine hundred and fifty-four pounds, four shillings, the largest sum ever obtained for a library of the same extent. The vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible was purchased for the Earl of Ashburnham for three thousand four hundred pounds; and the paper copy, now in the Huth library, fetched two thousand six hundred and ninety. Fust and Schoeffer's Latin Bible of 1462, which Mr. Perkins acquired at the sale of Mr. Dent's books for one hundred and seventy-three pounds, five shillings, sold for seven hundred and eighty pounds; while the copy of Coverdale's Bible, which wanted the title and two following leaves and the map, realised four hundred pounds; and the 1623 edition of Shakespeare's Plays brought five hundred and eighty-five pounds. The manuscripts also went for large sums. John Lydgate's Sege of Troye, a magnificently illuminated manuscript on vellum of the fifteenth century; Les Œuvres Diverses of Jehan de Meun; and Les Cent Histoires de Troye of Christine de Pisan, of about the same period, sold respectively for thirteen hundred and twenty, six hundred and ninety, and six hundred and fifty pounds. The prices obtained for the books were generally greatly in excess of those given by Mr. Perkins for them.

FREDERICK PERKINS, 1780-1860

Frederick Perkins of Chepstead, Kent, born in 1780, was a brother of Henry Perkins, and a partner in the same firm. He also formed a good library, which contained the first four Shakespeare folios, and a considerable number of the separate plays in quarto. Among them were the first editions of Love's Labour Lost, Much Ado about Nothing, the Second Part of Henry the Fourth, Troilus and Cressida, Pericles, Othello, and the second or first complete edition of Romeo and Juliet, as well as the first edition of Lucrece. Three Caxtons were to be found in the collection: the Mirrour of the World, the Chastising of Goddes Children, and Higden's Polycronicon, but they were not good copies. The library also comprised some fine illuminated Horæ and other manuscripts, including a copy on vellum of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of the fifteenth century. Mr. Perkins died on the 10th of October 1860, and his library was sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge on July 10th, 1889, and six following days. There were two thousand and eighty-six lots in the sale, which realised eight thousand two hundred and twenty-two pounds, seven shillings. The first Shakespeare folio fetched four hundred and fifteen pounds, the second forty-seven pounds, the third one hundred pounds, and the fourth fourteen pounds. Of the quarto plays, the Second Part of Henry the Fourth sold for two hundred and twenty-five pounds, Othello for one hundred and thirty pounds, and Romeo and Juliet for one hundred and sixty-four pounds. The copies of Love's Labour Lost, Much Ado about Nothing, Troilus and Cressida, and Pericles were poor ones, and realised but comparatively small sums. The Lucrece fetched two hundred pounds.

JOHN BELLINGHAM INGLIS, 1780-1870

Mr. Inglis, who was a good classical scholar, an excellent linguist, and a man of considerable literary ability, commenced collecting books at a very early age, and soon formed a very valuable and important library, which was especially rich in works from the presses of the early English printers. Unlike some possessors of libraries, he read the books which he had collected; and the Duke of Sussex, at one of his literary dinners at Kensington Palace, is reported to have said: 'Gentlemen, you are all very learned about titles, editions, and printers, but none of you seem to have read anything of the books except Mr. Inglis here.' In 1832 he translated into English, for the first time, the Philobiblon of Richard de Bury, and presented it to Thomas Rodd, the bookseller, who published it. He also made translations of several other mediæval printed books and manuscripts, which have never been published. A biographical notice of him appears in The Bookworm of December 1870, by J.P. Berjeau, the editor of that periodical. A portion of Inglis's books was sold anonymously by Sotheby on June 9th, 1826, and seven following days. The title-page of the catalogue reads: 'Catalogue of a singularly curious and valuable selection from the Library of a Gentleman, including three extraordinary specimens of Block Printing; Books printed in the Fifteenth Century; Books printed on vellum; Fine copies of Works from the Presses of Caxton, Machlinia, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Julyan Notary, Verard, etc.; an extensive Collection of Old English Poetry; Romances; Historical and Theological Tracts; early Voyages and Travels; curious Treatises on Witches and Witchcraft; some of the earliest Dictionaries and Vocabularies in the English Language, etc. Likewise several Manuscripts on vellum, most beautifully illuminated, etc.' The number of lots in this sale was sixteen hundred and sixty-five, and the sum realised three thousand three hundred and thirty-three pounds, nine shillings and sixpence. The prices obtained for the books were extremely low. The three block-books:—the first edition of the Speculum Humanæ Salvationis, Historia Sancti Johannis Evangelistæ ejusque Visiones Apocalypticæ, and the Biblia Pauperum fetched but ninety-five pounds, eleven shillings; forty-seven pounds, five shillings, and thirty-six pounds, fifteen shillings respectively; while no more than four hundred and thirty-one pounds, fifteen shillings and sixpence could be obtained for the thirteen Caxtons in the sale—about thirty-three pounds each. The following are a few of the other notable books in this fine collection, and the prices they fetched: Les Faits de Maistre Alain Chartier, imprimez a Paris par Pierre le Caron pour Anthoine Verard, printed on vellum, with capital letters painted in gold and colours, fifty-six pounds, fourteen shillings; Le Recueil des Histoires Troiennes, imprime a Paris par Anthoine Verard, presentation copy to Charles VIII., printed on vellum, ornamented with eighty-three miniatures, twenty-seven pounds; Vincent, Les cinq volumes du Miroir Hystorial, imprime a Paris par Anthoine Verard, 1495-96, forty-six pounds, four shillings; Speculum Christiani, printed by Machlinia, sixteen pounds, sixteen shillings; Promptorius Puerorum, printed by Pynson in 1499, thirty-eight pounds, seventeen shillings; The Floure of the Commandments of God, Wynkyn de Worde, 1521, thirteen pounds, thirteen shillings; The Catechisme, set furth by ... Johne, Archbischop of Sanct Androus, etc. Prentit at Sanct Androus, 1552, sixteen pounds, five shillings and sixpence; Mary of Nemmegen, printed at Antwerp by Jan Van Doesborgh in 1518 or 1519, the only copy known, twenty-four pounds; Painter, The Palace of Pleasure, London, Thomas Marshe, 1575, a very fine copy, twenty-three pounds; and Shakespeare's Sonnets, London, 1609, forty pounds, nineteen shillings. Perhaps the finest of the manuscripts were a beautifully illuminated copy on vellum of the Liber de Proprietatibus Rerum, Anglice, by Bartholomæus de Glanvilla, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, which fetched fifty-one pounds, nine shillings; and Boccaccio's Tragedies of the Falle of Unfortunate Princes, translated into English verse, written on vellum in England in the early part of the fifteenth century, and richly illuminated. Thirty pounds, nine shillings was all that was obtained for this fine manuscript. After Inglis's death, his son, Dr. C. Inglis, sold such books as he could not find room for. They were disposed of by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge on the 31st of July 1871, and five following days, and realised two thousand seven hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings and sixpence. Among the fifteen hundred and eighty-eight lots in the sale were a few rare books and some fine papyri. A third sale of the books in this splendid library, by order of Dr. C. Inglis, took place on June 11th, 1900, and three following days, by the same auctioneers. In this sale there were eight hundred and forty-nine lots, for which the sum of seven thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence was obtained. Although no Caxtons were to be found among the books, there were many rare and interesting examples from the presses of Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, Julian Notary and other early English printers. The foreign printers were also well represented, and the collection contained several beautiful Books of Hours, both printed and in manuscript. Some very high prices were obtained for the more important books, as the following list of a few of the most notable will show:—Speculum Humanæ Salvationis, printed by G. Zainer at Augsburg in 1471, eighty-four pounds; Turrecremata, Meditationes, Romæ, 1473, one hundred pounds; the first edition of the Philobiblon of Richard de Bury, Coloniæ, 1473, eighty pounds; Rolle de Hampole super Job, attributed to the Oxford press of Rood and Hunt, about 1481-86, three hundred pounds; Chronicle of England, printed by Machlinia about 1484, one hundred and seventy-five pounds; Heures de lusaige de Romme, with cuts printed in various colours, Paris, Jehan du Pré, 1490, two hundred and seventy-two pounds; First Letter of Columbus (Latin) 1493, Vespuccius, Mundus Novus, 1502, and other rare tracts in one volume, two hundred and thirty pounds; Verardus in Laudem Fernandi Hispaniarum Regis, etc., containing the letter of Columbus to King Ferdinand on his discovery of America, 1494, ninety pounds; Vitas Patrum, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1495, fifty pounds; Hoefken van Devotien, Antwerpen, 1496, one hundred and one pounds; Postilla Epistolarum et Evangeliorum Dominicalium, printed by Julian Notary in 1509, fifty pounds; Mirrour of Oure Ladye, R. Fawkes, 1530, forty-nine pounds; Heures de Rome, with illustrations by Geoffroy Tory, Paris, 1525, one hundred and forty-four pounds; and Spenser's Faerie Queene, Foure Hymnes, Prothalamion, etc., all first editions, 1590-96, one hundred and seventy pounds.

WILLIAM HENRY MILLER, 1789-1848

Mr. William Henry Miller, who was born in 1789, was the only child of Mr. William Miller of Craigentinny, Midlothian. In 1830 he entered Parliament as one of the Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme, which seat he held until the year 1841. He died unmarried at his residence, Craigentinny House, near Edinburgh, on the 31st of October 1848, and was buried, according to his desire, in a mausoleum on his estate. Mr. Miller formed a fine collection of very choice books at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire, many of which he acquired at the Heber and other important sales of the first half of the nineteenth century. He was very particular about the condition and size of the volumes he purchased, and from his habit of carrying a foot-rule about him for the purpose of ascertaining their dimensions he became known as 'Measure Miller.' The library was bequeathed to his cousin Miss Marsh, from whom it passed to Mr. Samuel Christie-Miller, who was Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1847 to 1859, and on his death on the 5th of April 1889 to Mr. Wakefield Christie-Miller, who died at Dublin on the 22nd of February 1898. Many rare books have been added to the Britwell Library by its later possessors. The additions made by the last owner were especially important, notably that of the larger portion of the Elizabethan rarities discovered in 1867 at Lamport Hall, the seat of Sir Charles Isham; and the collection may now be considered unrivalled among private libraries for the number of choice examples of English and Scottish literature which it contains, particularly in the division of English poetry. The finest copy known of the Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers, one of the three extant copies of the Morale Prouerbes of Cristyne, and nine other works printed by Caxton, are to be found on the shelves of the library, as well as a large number of books from the presses of Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Julyan Notary, and other early English printers. Among them are many editions of the grammatical treatises of Robert Whitinton and John Stanbridge, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, and unique copies of Fitzherbert's Boke of Husbandrie, the romance of Oliver of Castile, and Fysshynge with an Angle, all by the same printer. The library contains also a fine series of the early editions of the English Chronicles, and of the works of Chaucer. Among the treasures of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods are the first Shakespeare folio (the second, third, and fourth folios are also in the library); an unique copy of an edition of Venus and Adonis, printed for William Leake at London in 1599, from the Isham collection; all the early editions of Sidney's Arcadia; fine examples of the early editions of the works of Edmund Spenser; the only perfect copy known of the first edition of the Paradyse of Daintie Devises; and remarkably complete sets of the works of Churchyard, Breton, Greene, Dekker, Wither and Brathwaite. Other notable books in this splendid library are a copy on vellum, with coloured maps, of Ptolemy's Cosmographia, printed at Ulm in 1482, and bound by Derome; the Aldine edition of Poliphili Hypnerotomachia, in the original binding, and an unique copy of the English translation printed in London by Samuel Waterson in 1592; a fine and perfect set in nine parts of the Mirrour of Princely Deedes and Knighthood (a translation of the Spanish Espejo de Principes y Cavalleros); editions of Hakluyt's Voyages; a beautiful and tall copy of Purchas his Pilgrimes; the finest and most complete set which has been formed of De Bry's Voyages; the first issue of Milton's Paradise Lost; the first edition of Walton's Compleat Angler in the original sheepskin binding; the Kilmarnock edition of Burns's Poems; and several of the original editions of Shelley's works, including the excessively rare [OE]dipus Tyrannus. There is a fine collection of early English music in the Britwell Library, and it possesses the greater portion of the Heber ballads and broadsides, and a large number of books which once belonged to De Thou. Many of the volumes are masterpieces of the work of Bedford, Riviere, Lortic, and other English and foreign binders.

GEORGE DANIEL, 1789-1864

George Daniel was born in London on the 16th of September 1789. After receiving an education at Mr. Thomas Hogg's boarding-school at Paddington Green, he became a clerk to a stockbroker in Tokenhouse Yard,[93] and afterwards followed the profession of an accountant; but he employed all his leisure time in literary pursuits, and in the collection of books, works of art and curiosities. He commenced writing at a very early age, and was the author of a novel The Adventures of Dick Distich, and a considerable number of poetical and dramatic pieces. He also contributed many articles to Ackerman's Poetical Magazine, Bentley's Miscellany, and other magazines, and was the editor of Cumberland's British Theatre, and Cumberland's Minor Theatre. His first printed production, Stanzas on Lord Nelsons Victory and Death, written in conjunction with a young friend, appeared in 1805, but he tells us that he wrote some verses when he was but eight years of age on the death of his father. In 1811 he published a poem called The Times, or the Prophecy, and in 1812 a poetical squib founded on the reputed horse-whipping of the Prince of Wales by Lord Yarmouth, entitled R-y-l Stripes; or, a Kick from Yar—th to Wa—s, for the suppression of which a large sum was paid by the Prince Regent. In the same year appeared The Adventures of Dick Distich in three volumes, which was written by the author before he was eighteen, and a volume of Miscellaneous Poems; and in 1814 The Modern Dunciad, in which he sings the praises of 'old books, old wines, old customs, and old friends.' He continued to write during the whole of his life, and his last work, Love's Last Labour not Lost, was published in 1863. Daniel was fond of convivial society, and numbered Charles Lamb and Robert Bloomfield among his acquaintances, and he was also intimate with many of the principal actors of the day. He died at his son's house, The Grove, Stoke Newington, on the 30th of March 1864. The cause of his death was apoplexy.

Daniel formed a very choice and valuable library in his residence, 18 Canonbury Square, Islington, which was chiefly remarkable for rare editions of old English writers, and very fine collections of Elizabethan black-letter ballads and Shakespeariana. The Elizabethan ballads would alone be sufficient to render any library famous. They were one hundred and forty-nine in number, and he is said to have purchased them for fifty pounds from Mr. William Stevenson Fitch, Postmaster at Ipswich, who is believed to have obtained them from the housekeeper at Helmingham Hall, Suffolk, the residence of the Tollemache family. Of these ballads seventy-nine were sold to Mr. Heber by Mr. Daniel for seventy pounds, and the remaining seventy were bought at the sale of his library for seven hundred and fifty pounds by Mr. Huth, who had them printed for presentation to the members of the Philobiblon Society. The Shakespearian collection comprised splendid copies of the first four folios and eighteen of the quarto plays, together with the 1594 and 1655 editions of Lucrece, the 1594 and 1596 editions of Venus and Adonis, and the first editions of the Sonnets and Poems. The library also contained a large number of early Jest-Books, Drolleries, Garlands and Penny-Histories; and among the rare editions of English writers were works by John Skelton, Edmund Spenser, Anthony Chute, Robert Chester, Anthony Munday, Ben Jonson, Patrick Hannay, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, John Milton, and many others. Several very beautiful manuscripts were also to be found in it.

Daniel's library was sold by auction by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge on the 20th of July 1864, and the nine following days. There were eighteen hundred and seventeen lots, which realised thirteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-four pounds, eleven shillings; the water-colour drawings, engravings, portraits, coins, etc., of which there were four hundred and sixty-one lots, were sold at the same time, and produced one thousand eight hundred and eighty pounds, eleven shillings more.

The sale excited great interest, and many of the books went for large sums; but the prices obtained for others were small compared with those the volumes would fetch at the present time: a fine copy of the first edition of Walton's Compleat Angler realised no more than twenty-seven pounds, ten shillings. All the Shakespeares sold well. The first folio, probably the finest example extant, was bought by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts for six hundred and eighty-two guineas, till recently the highest price ever obtained for a copy;[94] and the second, third and fourth folios fetched respectively one hundred and forty-eight pounds, forty-six pounds, and twenty-one pounds, ten shillings. The third folio was a good copy, but had the title in facsimile, which accounts for the small sum it realised. Of the quarto plays, the first edition of King Richard the Third—a very fine copy—sold for three hundred and fifty-one pounds, fifteen shillings; the first editions of the Merry Wives of Windsor and Love's Labour Lost for three hundred and forty-six pounds, ten shillings each, and the first edition of King Richard the Second for three hundred and forty-one pounds, five shillings. The 1594 and 1596 editions of Venus and Adonis realised two hundred and forty pounds and three hundred and fifteen pounds; a copy of the Sonnets two hundred and twenty-five pounds, fifteen shillings; and the first edition of Lucrece one hundred and fifty-seven pounds, ten shillings. The copy of Love's Labour Lost, and the 1596 edition of Venus and Adonis, of which the Bodleian Library possesses the only other copy, were secured for the British Museum.

The following are a few of the other more notable books in the library, together with the prices they fetched at the sale:—Unique copy of The Boke of Hawkynge and Huntynge and Fysshynge, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, without date, one hundred and eight pounds; Rychard Cuer de Lyon, also printed by Wynkyn de Worde, 1528, ninety-two pounds; Complaynt of a Dolorous Lover, printed by Robert Wyer about 1550, unique, sixty-seven pounds, four shillings; The Tragicall Historie of Romeus and Juliet (London, 1562), seventy-seven pounds, fourteen shillings; Merry Jeste of a shrewde and curste Wyfe (London, about 1575), unique, sixty-four pounds; Munday's Banquet of Daintie Conceits (London, 1588), unique, two hundred and twenty-five pounds; Chute's Beawtie Dishonoured, written under the title of Shores Wife (London, 1593), unique, ninety-six pounds; Maroccus Extaticus, or Bankes Bay Horse (London, 1595), eighty-one pounds; Chester's Loves Martyr, or Rosalins Complaynt (London, 1601)—this work contains a poem (Threnos) by Shakespeare at p. 172—one hundred and thirty-eight pounds; Meeting of Gallants at an Ordinarie, or the Walkes in Powles (London, 1604), unique, eighty-one pounds; Sejanus, his Fall, by Ben Jonson, first edition (London, 1605), printed on large paper, a presentation copy from the author with the following autograph inscription—

'To my perfect friend Mr. Francis Crane
I erect this Altar of Friendship,
and leave it as an eternall witnesse of my Love.
Ben Jonson'—

unique, one hundred and six pounds; Hannay's Philomela, the Nightingale, etc. (London, 1622), ninety-six pounds.

A carved casket made out of the mulberry tree in Shakespeare's Garden, and presented to Garrick with the freedom of the borough of Stratford-on-Avon, was purchased at Charles Mathews's sale in 1835 by Daniel for forty-seven guineas, and presented by him to the British Museum.